Strip guiding apparatus



June 3, 1969 H. J. JACKSON 3,447,354

STRIP GUIDING APPARATUS Sheet Filed Feb. 2, 1967 INVENTOR flu f; J.Jackson June 3, 1969 H. .1. JACKSON 3, ,3

STRIP GUIDING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 2. 1967 Sheet 2 of 2.

High J. Jackson United States Patent US. Cl. 72-250 1 Claim ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for guiding the leading end of an advancingstrip emerging from a mill roll stand. A strip guide actuated by theraising and lowering of strip tensioning means prevents damage to themoving strip by contact with the guide.

Background of the invention This invention relates generally to stripguides for rolling mills and more particularly to apparatus adapted toautomatically adjust to varying conditions of strip tension.

In hot strip mills guides are placed at the exit side of the mill standsto guide the leading edge of an advancing strip toward the next stand.The leading edge has a tendency to turn up and if not properly guidedwill cobble due to the head end turning back and entering the milldoubled, thus fouling the mill rolls. Conventional strip guides comprisea plurality of fiat plates or bars with one end resting directly on thework roll a short distance from the pass line and the other end engaginga rest bar between the mill housings. Counterweights attached to eachguide plate maintain constant pressure of the guide plate against thework roll. The loosely mounted guide plates and counterweights haveproven objectionable since frequently serious and costly wrecks haveoccurred when the guides were knocked out by the moving strip and runinto the next stand. Furthermore, the frequent removing and replacing ofthe many parts of this apparatus to permit the changing of the workrolls is both costly and time consuming. The most important defect ofthe conventional guides, however, is the damage by scratching of thestrip surface when the strip contacts the guide as a result of raisingthe strip pass line in the strip tensioning operation.

Summary of the invention It is an object of this invention to provide aself-adjusting strip guide of simple construction which is readily movedin and out of its normal operating position.

The instant invention provides apparatus for guiding the leading edge ofan advancing strip emerging from a mill roll stand comprising a singleguide plate which is adapted to automatically adjust its position withrespect to the surface of the strip and is so constructed as to beeasily withdrawn from the work rolls sufiiciently to allow roll changesin the mill without the necessity of removing the guide therefrom.

Brief description of the drawings backup rolls 11 and work rolls 12mounted between housings 13. A strip tensioning device mounted adjacent3,447,354- Patented June 3, 1969 ice to the exit side of mill roll stand10, comprises looper table 15 which is rotatable about shaft 17. Looperroll 16 is mounted in bearings 19 at the ends of arms 14 for rotationabout shaft 17. Cam 18 is fixed on the housing of the looper rollbearing 19 at one end of looper table 15 as eg, by welding, for rotationwith looper table 15.

Guide plate 20, which forms the strip guide, extends substantially thefull width of work rolls 12. Lever arm 21 is removably attached to thecenter of guide plate 20 by insertion of one end of the lever arm into ashort length of pipe sleeve 22 welded to the guide plate. A hole drilledtransversely through the pipe sleeve 22 and lever arm 21 provides meansfor attaching the lever armto the guide plate as by bolt 23. Lever arm21 extends in the direction of the line of travel of the strip 30 and issubstantially parallel thereto, although, because of the eccentricity ofthe cam surface, it is inclined slightly, and extends to a positionwhere the other end of the lever arm rests in contact with theperipheral surface of cam 18. A slot or groove 24 is provided at the endof lever arm 21 to form a guideway for the surface of cam 18. Theactuation of the strip tensioning device or looper table 15 which isadapted to raise or lower looper roll 16 to tension the strip 30 willalso cause the cam 18 to raise and lower thereby raising and loweringthe strip guide plate 20 with respect to the surface of the strip 30 toavoid contact between the guide plate 20 and the moving strip 30.

The pivotal mounting of the guide plate 20 on the mill roll stand 10comprises two spring elements 25, mounted on cylindrical pins 26 whichproject from the inside face of housings 13, the suitably formed ends 28of the spring elements 25 being engaged with connecting elements 27secured to the guide plate 20. The other end 29 of the spring elements25 is removably engaged under a lug 31 attached to the inside face ofthe housings 13. It is clearly seen in FIG. 2 that this arrangementcauses the guide plate to be biased against the work roll surface whenthe guide is in either the normal operating position, as shown inphantom, or raised position.

Referring now to FIG. 3 the strip guiding apparatus is seen to be in aposition which allows easy removal of work rolls 12 when their changingis necessary. Manual removal of the spring end 29 from engagement withlug 31 and rotation about pins 26 will withdraw the guide plate 20sufficiently for work roll changing to proceed without the necessity ofcompletely removing the strip guide apparatus from the mill roll stand.The time consumed in preparing the mill for the next rolling willunderstandably be minimized.

In operation: The leading edge of a strip 30 emerging from the workrolls of a mill roll stand 10, having a tendency to curl upward, isdeflected by strip guide plate 20 which is substantialy horizontal whenthe threading of strip 30 is begun. The strip guide apparatus is heldfirmly in place by the engagement of cam 18 in slot 24 of lever arm 21and the force of the torsion spring elements 25 which bias the guideplate against the work roll surface. The leading edge of the strip isfed into the next roll stand and the looper table 15 is actuated toraise up against the strip 30 to produce tension in the strip whereuponcam 18 engaging lever arm 21 causes the lever arm to raise also, thuslifting the guide plate to a position slightly inclined to the surfaceof the advancing strip. Contact of the strip surface with the stripguide plate which would otherwise result when the looper roll is raisedis thus avoided and damage to the strip in the form of surface scratchesis eliminated.

The guide apparatus is left attached to the mill stand during a workroll changing operation but is withdrawn out of the way by manuallydisengaging the spring end 29 from lug 31 to allow free rotation of thespring about pins 26. Rotation of the spring withdraws the guide plateto a position sufliciently clear of the mill stand to avoid interferencewith the work roll changing.

It is thus seen that a unique and novel means for automatically moving astrip guide plate out of the way of an advancing strip is provided bythe instant invention. The instant invention also provides an improved,inexpensive strip guide of simple construction which is easilymaintained.

I claim:

1. In a strip guiding apparatus for a rolling mill, including a millroll stand, a guide plate pivotally mounted on said mill roll stand andextending the width of the mill rolls, means to bias said guide plateagainst one of the work rolls, and strip tensioning means, theimprovemen comprising: 6

(a) a lever arm attached to said guide plate and extending in thedirection of the line of travel of said strip, and

(b) a cam surface mounted on said strip tensioning means adapted toengage said lever arm to bias said lever arm away from strip passingthrough the mill roll stand and over the tensioning means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/ 1918 Leach 72250 11/ 1924Fleishour 72-250 12/ 1937 Montgomery et a1. 72-250 3/1940 McBain 72-2505/1944 Klein 72 205 10/1962 Fry 72-250 FOREIGN PATENTS 9/ 1964 France.

CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

A. RUDERMAN, Assistant Examiner.

, US. Cl. X.R.

